Archive for the ‘input’ Category

Entering any kind of text using a console gamepad is an exercise in frustration. Certain games have offered innovative solutions, like Beyond Good and Evil‘s infinitely spiraling letters, but none quite as simple as Circboard. It basically splits the keyboard into bunches, with the left analog stick on an Xbox 360 controller selecting a group of letters and then the right stick or buttons grabbing a specific letter. Shoulder bumpers handle space and backspace, while the left trigger does caps. Simple, easy — and as of now just a demo. But, the team is looking to get its idea into a variety of games and other console apps, and they’re looking for investors. You always did say that mutual funds were boring…

Update: Alfredo wrote in with some prior art that might make patenting this approach somewhat… difficult.

You know, some people take gaming very seriously, and there’s no doubt that a good portion of them will be picking up this new peripheral from Ten One Design. For $24.95, the Fling tactile game controller promises to enhance some iPad games by overlaying their virtual D-pad with a physical mini joystick. And that’s not it — the funky spiral mechanism also provides resistance to simulate force feedback, meaning your thumb will always know its boundaries. Check out the video demo after the break.

How do you freshen up the typically unexciting external storage unit? You slap a multitouch trackpad on the top of it, of course. And since you’re dreaming up wild concepts, make that top out of carbon fiber, provide a base made out of glass and insert some LEDs next to it to provide ambient illumination — with an integrated light sensor adjusting their brightness on the fly, obviously. Yes, André Silva’s LaCie Float is indeed out of touch with things like “feasibility” and “economics,” but don’t tell us you wouldn’t love that slice of converged awesomeness sidling up next to your laptop. USB 3.0 comes standard and an SSD option is also available, if you wish for it hard enough.

In most circumstances, we’d argue a self-illuminating controller crisscrossed by bright bands of orange is a couple of notches over the top, but when it’s Tron you’re talking about, it all makes sense. This latest peripheral for the 360 is up for pre-order now at $39.99 and comes prepackaged with the smugness of knowing that each one sold will be part of a very limited 250-unit production run. It’s officially licensed by Microsoft and arriving at snowy doorsteps some time later this month. A less exclusive blue brother should be joining it soon as well, in case the current hue’s not quite to your liking.